Vintage V-12's - Engine Shop Visit - Part 1 of 3

In October of 2017 I visited Vintage V-12s aircraft engine building and restoration facility in Tehachapi California to do a "Kermie Cam" grand tour of the shops and talk about a couple of engines I have there. Come along with me on this 3 part series as Jose Flores takes us around to see this unbelievable operation. This is Part 1of 3.
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[@Airsally]

Bruce Lockwood gave our RC club intown a tour of all of there buildings unbelievable how much cool stuff they have. A lot of engine parts from the old race boats too. Pricless stuff. Lived in town for over 30 years and drove by everyday on the way to Edwards. Every once in a while they would be test running engines...cool stuff. Jose really know his stuff. Lot of years of experience.

[@philiprawbon2359]

this is so great to see..what a engine shop this is..wow..so glad their still working on them an i'm sure making parts too

[@williamgoebel1342]

Thank you, Mr. Weeks. Your commitment to passing on this information is incredible. I look forward to your videos all the time!

[@goatflieg]

Haven't even watched it yet, and I know how much I'll love this. "I think I'm at the right spot"... Vintage V-12s rocks!

[@redbraid79]

Thanks for getting us through the doors for vintage V-12's. It's something most folks would never get to see. Merry Christmas

[@MonkPetite]

Good to see Jose .. having several overseas conversations with him solving some problems at our merlins.. A true V12 guru

[@curtisemmett6581]

Sorry to be off topic but does anyone know of a tool to log back into an instagram account? I somehow lost the login password. I would love any help you can offer me!

[@terranceharper6193]

@Curtis Emmett instablaster :)

[@curtisemmett6581]

@Terrance Harper i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff atm. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@curtisemmett6581]

@Terrance Harper It did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I am so happy:D Thank you so much, you saved my account!

[@terranceharper6193]

@Curtis Emmett Glad I could help :D

[@ironbark1822]

Kermie, please dont ever stop doing these videos they are precious.

[@Desertduleler_88]

Brings back a few memories of my time working in an engine overhaul shop for light aircraft....

[@specforged5651]

Absolutely incredible! That’s really all I have to say. Pure works of art.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

Very nice tour, Mr. Weeks. Looking forward to Part 2 and 3. Vintage V12s has been a bit of an enigma, and I very surprised that they opened up their doors. Great stuff.

[@irltdgraphics]

Thanks for sharing this, looking forward to parts 2 and 3.

[@Zuloff]

I go by this shop every day back and forth to work. Although I can't hear the engines from the highway I like to see when they have something running on the truck out front.

[@raymondheath7668]

My uncle Steve Meyers would have loved this. He used to rebuild Merlins for Hydro racing and Reno air race P-51's

[@blairguinea6811]

Fascinating .............such a clean clinical environment , thanks Kermie and Jose, love this stuff

[@CrayonboxAviationAdventures]

This is the biz Kermit! Very interesting to see this stuff. More soon please. I remember seeing my first Merlin engine in a museum and thinking how cool to be able to touch one of the famous engines.

[@hannes_lutzenberger]

Very cool footage Kermit. Not many people ever saw Jose´s shop from the inside, thank you for the upload. When I see a GRIFFON it always reminds me on Precious Metal. Can´t wait to see part 2

[@michaelnaisbitt1639]

Amazing video of all those engines. Wish I lived closer wow

[@Batallon.Chacabuco]

Señor José Flores....Mis felicitaciones y admiración por su trabajo en esos motores. Saludos desde Chile.

[@chrisreynolds7164]

Thanks, Kermit,appreciate your time and effort...Cheers

[@SCCIT-jq6jh]

As an Australian I would kill to work for this man!. I am a Rolls Royce Griffin man. Personally want a bucker 133 jungmeister.

[@dougg9448]

José, you know your v12s! Very cool shop.

[@izzynutz2000]

this is where I'm at home my father was International president of the PT boats organization and I have gone through several Packard v-12 in my time taking them out of mothball from the Navy put them on a stand and make them run or somebody has brought one for me to rebuild my father and I used to do it but he has since passed away I can tell you this the neighbors don't like you very much when you fire up a V12 in your driveway LOL

[@rcdogmanduh4440]

Holy crap a candy store for adults, gorgeous engines!

[@threepot]

Great film! Thanks for posting

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

Those Allison heads are gorgeous, and BIG. I knew that they were big heads, but I didn't know that they were that big.

[@ColeAviation]

😱WOW!!! That Griffin is SWEET!!!! VERY RARE. There’s a LOT of money in this video.

[@bazwabat1]

I think it's a Spitfire Griffon Chad as they are the rare ones. The 57 and 58 Shack engines are easy to come by.

[@crstothard]

Kermit in a candy store! Thanks for sharing! Greetings from NYC.

[@stephensimpson5283]

Man I wish they were near me. I would be there everyday asking for a job. Even making brews foir everyone just to be around those engines. Hope we get to see some of the DB601's and 605's.

[@russg1801]

So, the guy is doing German V-12's, too?

[@ckelley63]

MAN!!! this is a killer vid love these old motors and peaking inside and seeing what makes them tick!!

[@Polaventris]

Absolutely fascinating, thank you!

[@Falcon109]

Very nice view into Vintage V12! So many great engines! Hope you can show us also some DB 60x engines in the next videos!

[@camseverance7768]

So cool, thanks for uploading!

[@Bikerbob59]

Love these videos. Thanks for doing this.

[@eriku571]

This is cool. I grew up in Tehachapi and spent a lot of time on the airport there.

[@woooster71]

Love that place, could listen to Jose all day.. I only have an engine valve from a Hurricane that crashed in Russia. Not much, but it takes pride of place on my shelf

[@globalfocus5692]

Pp

[@globalfocus5692]

P

[@globalfocus5692]

P

[@mikeray1544]

Closest I came to the aircraft powerplant units were the Jaguar V-12 cars{pre 1987 Jaguars are the real thing-}great show Mr.Weeks.

[@bazwabat1]

I looooooove aircraft engines be it V12 or radials so am loving this video!!

[@Wanous-hv7zo]

Great video. Long live the V12

[@hokehinson5987]

Outstanding!

[@ianleckie922]

Simply amazing. Wow.

[@hudmut]

Best youtube video of the year for me. Would love to know more on the technical stuff they do.

[@DickGibson]

Amazing !!!

[@markwilliams8158]

Great Video!

[@MrBook123456]

great video to watch

[@The-KP]

Like, wow. Impressive as hell.

[@ogaugeclockwork4407]

Just awesome!

[@MegaFPVFlyer]

On Sunday, I visited a hangar that had a set of rebuilt Merlin cylinders and heads wrapped in plastic, they had just been rebuilt. I can't help but wonder if they've been through that shop.

[@pietroseven8228]

This is like land of wonder!

[@leefithian3704]

Sweet shop ! I picked up a Wasp Jr for our 195 jump ship in Clewiston with the DZ pickup as a young man and the dude in Avon Park showed me a Merlin ready to go , sitting on a rack , cool stuff , looks like a gold mine there

[@ifmbm332b]

All your videos are really fascinating viewing.

[@KermitWeeks444]

Thanks!

[@davidmicheletti6292]

I have to confess that when we go to EAA air venture I become mesmerized by the sound of a Merlin engine. Of course there is the radial engines engines and then some inline engines. But most of all the Merlin. Jets just suck! No pleasure in hearing them. We have a friend who’s father was a four time ace flying a P-51A &B over Europe. Sadly he was shot down over a air field in France while making strafing runs. His plane was the Bonnie two and the last thing he saw as he tried to bail out was her name written on the side of the fuselage. At least that is what I would like to think. Each year I bring back something to remind her of his P-51. It’s sad she really never know him as a parent but keeping his memory alive is the only way we have to pay our respects these days. I’m very grateful to Mr. weeks for keeping these planes alive. I have visited his fantasy of flight time when I was down and depressed. I took a tour of these planes and a elderly man who flew on a B-24 during the massive bombing raid over Germany and was encouraged to climb on board it. I started crying as he tried to control his emotions as he entered the plane for the first time since ww2. Judging by his appearance this would also be his last time he would do this again. I was so grateful people at fantasy of flight took the time to help and encourage him as he stood up in the hatch of this plane. I too became a little more healed that day. Someday I would like to spend another day visiting these wonderful and next to pristine aircraft that have been lovingly brought back to life. Once more I was to hear the sound of the Merlin. A perfect name

[@mandernachluca3774]

First of all jet engines do suck (pun intended), no seriously i like jet engines a lot but the Bf 109 sounds better than the P 51 trust me ;D. But if really want to see something amazing search for the Wright R-3350.

[@Warbird-Aviation]

Great Video super

[@jayfmiller]

Thanks for the interesting video. It is nice to see a clean and organized shop. I wonder if they have a laser metal deposition vendor to build up under-size parts.

[@deeremeyer1749]

Under-size parts like what? That's shadetree technology 90% of the time and you can't use "laser metal deposition" and end up with a better part than even a properly machined UNDERSIZE part. Go fly your million-dollar "warbird" on cheap, cheesedick "remanufactured" parts.

[@jamesgeorge4874]

Allison head was slick, and pretty advanced for their time.

[@Mysterycat_-uu1mx]

Amazing! These are gorgeous. It amazes me that we build such things, in the first place, then to top it off, we bolt it to a plane and fly it around at hundreds of miles an hour. THEN, we put guns on these planes and shoot at each other.

[@whalesong999]

Yes, the effort that went into producing these power plants was awesome during the war years, true for the radials also. Incredible production and testing facilities were constructed to produce these and had the highest production standards making these machines some of the best examples of engineering ever produced in the field. Check out other videos on YT showing how the R-3350 Wright engines were made - it was an incredible effort during the war years.

[@MarcvanExel]

This, I can watch all day long. Pure engine porn!

[@kencohagen4967]

I want a V12, and something to put it in! Thanks for showing some of the differences between the Merlin's and the Allison's. The Allison's were so far ahead of the Merlin's in so many ways it's no funny! But the Merlin's had superior superchargers. If they had sold us superchargers to put on our Allison's they would have made the best engines of the war! There is a report on line from the US Army Aircorps that is an analysis of the two engines showing the performance potential of the two engines. Natuarally aspirated the Allison kicked ass.

[@ohwell2790]

Of course you do know that Packard built Merlin's in WW2 in the USA, so superchargers would have been available for Allison's. Maybe it was because Merlin's or superchargers were not needed for the role that the great Curtis P-40 was used for? Have yet to see a engine kick anyone's ass.

[@burlatsdemontaigne6147]

ken cohagen _ If supercharged Allison's were better they would have used them. Maybe Uncle Sam was charging too much for them - like all the other stuff they sold to Britain to fight the Nazis?

[@nerd1000ify]

The V-1710 did have an option for a auxilliary supercharger driven via hydraulic coupling that effectively made it '2-stage' like the 60 series Merlins. The 2-stage Allisons only saw service in the P-63 though... and the main user of those planes was the Soviet Union via lend lease, so they're not so well known today.

[@woodychadwick9834]

Now that's cool.

[@MrBook123456]

good video

[@falconeaterf15]

I seem to recall seeing a Shackleton engine at a tech school in Wpg. Canada a few years back.

[@timarb5177]

At 11:15. Explained the exact difference between Merlin, Allison n griffon.

[@Snow_owl1966]

Kermit? I like this

[@pneumatic00]

I wonder if there is a building in the world with more V-12 engines in it? Amazing.

[@dimitribartali2744]

Fantastico

[@robertfairburn9979]

In many ways the peak of gasoline power and what a joy to listen and watch these engines running. Sadly and very much to my regret the electric car will start taking over. The major problem for electric cars was range, yet this problem doesn’t exist any more. In countries with strong green policies such as mine the petrol car is on a limited time frame. I’m planning to get myself a very old car from the fifties and hope vintage cars will get an exception. Hopefully there will remain mechanics like these guys who will keep these engines going.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+clive hudson It would be cooler to transplant the Tesla running gear into a '57 Chevy. Then you'll be a real hipster. Actually that sounds kinda cool and future tuners will be doing stuff like that. It might be cheaper to make a Tesla VW Bug though.

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

Yes, ENGINES!!!

[@jakejacobs7584]

Geraaatte!

[@dinomaxi4951]

Nice.

[@terrelmchenry9524]

WOULD BE A COOL PLACE TO WORK...

[@wgmskiing]

Hah nice cliffhanger!

[@plasticmojo8384]

schweet,I'm curious are all these guys in the shop aviation certified mechanics that actually work on the engines when putting back together or are there just a couple that do the main installation,great video nice clean shop to work in.

[@ronjon7942]

So which building/shop/outfit are the DB601s amd 605s built?

[@TennesseeHomesteadUSA]

7:04 Did they have to make new long studs for the cylinders ?

[@russg1801]

Jose mentions Allison engines for P-38's; well, there is only a tiny handful of airworthy Lightnings left. The last count I heard was ten; Glacier Girl, salvaged and rebuilt at a cost of millions, may have been #11, unless one airframe fell out of airworthy status since.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+Russ G Allison engines are also used in P-40 aircraft and a good number are in restoration. And there are recent new-builds for new flying P-51A aircraft that will also use the Allison. Also, Russian Yak-3M replicas were built with the Allison because of a lack of original Russian V12 hardware.

[@ssgpentland8241]

sure dont make them like that anymore....and keeping a 75 year old engine in the air is an art. Got to work with a guy rebuilding a R2800that was a "spare" that never flew in combat but then was picked over for parts and sat in a boneyard for 60 years before being rescued. Problem is, there are VERY few original parts out there and some things need to be machined because you cannot simply find them. Glad to see the effort to keep those warbird engines in the sky where they belong, not rotting away in a shed

[@ravineseder3133]

Looking at all those parts bins, a moderate earthquake and all those part will be everywhere. They need to put up something so parts boxes can't just slide off the shelves.

[@michaelmurray7199]

Amazing. I didn’t know there were any piston airplane engines that had 4 valves per cylinder. I always thought they only had 2 valves per cylinder.

[@ohwell2790]

Aircraft engines have been using 4 valve heads since the 1930's and twin overhead cams too. Please do some research on the net and there many of them, one of the first was Fiat , It is amazing how long it took to get into automobiles.

[@davidhutchison3343]

The big American radials used 2 valves, but most European engines used 4 valves. Easier to use 4 valves in a straight or V type engine. Very complicated to use 4 valves with a radial engine (although Bristol did a few before they went to sleeve valve engines)

[@marka8947]

"Turn the radio off",.....Right....Would have loved to hear him say that in my shop....Lol!!

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+Mark A He's one of their biggest customers for his many projects, so he can ask.

[@boston7704]

It's not to be a dick. KZbin will pull the video if there is copyrighted music in it.

[@deeremeyer1749]

Why are they NOT finish-hoing those liners on the Sunnen hone? You can get a PERFECT "crosshatch" and typically a good machine shop bores cylinders to within a few thousands of the final bore size and Sunnen hone them the rest of the way to end up with a dead-on finished bore. And if you're replacing pistons good shops FIT the pistons to the bores or rather the bores to the piston is bush league.

[@ILLEagle_1]

Wish i could tour this shop!

[@MetalTeamster]

Curious... if a Merlin engine like these are rebuilt, broken in correctly, warmed up and cooled down properly, not over boosted , serviced properly, how many hours are they generally good for ?

[@FiveCentsPlease]

Merlins have the advantage of continuous use over 70 years, plus more durable post-war parts, better tolerances and improved rebuild processes. So a Merlin rebuild today will get more hours between overhauls, typically described to be in the neighborhood of 700+ hours. It depends on how you fly them, as mentioned in a discussion topic on engine TBO times, a Merlin flown in aggressive demonstration flights will require more frequent rebuilds. (I won't delve into Reno racing because those are custom engines that get a LOT of wear.) If they are not abused (i.e. boat racing or tractor pulling) the bare engine cores can last a very long time, adding new bearings, cylinder liners, new pistons, etc when needed. The rebuilds today are better than factory given the attention to x-ray examination of all parts and careful assembly. The engines are usually bench-tested for several hours before they are delivered to the customer. The main challenge now is a dwindling supply of original parts with no permanent solution to replace them. Contrast the Merlin with the German engines that have only recently started returning to the air with little current background or knowledge on how to rebuild and operate them. They are currently limited to wartime service intervals although the engine experts today will be able to extend service life and add approved parts and rebuild practices. I think the German mills have service intervals at the 100, 200 and 600 hour mark with a factory engine life of 600 hours, though I'm sure those numbers will improve with modern practices.

[@MetalTeamster]

Well written answer.. Thank you. I guess basically about 30-40% of what you get out of an o-320 ...or that sort of engine. I wonder what it costs to go thru a Merlin and do a basic refresh? I would have no clue. I think a Ferrari V -12 from the early 70s is around $50,000

[@KermitWeeks444]

The life of a Merlin these days really depends of how often it's used but mainly you can get 400 hours out of the top end and the next time 400 rolls around, you also do the bottom end.

[@MetalTeamster]

Ok, very interesting. So, no where near the time one gets from an O - 320 or anything like that. But these are very high performance engines..... Thank you...

[@golfplaat2]

What er those tubes at 8m20s? Are those aftermarket inserts for the cylinder?

[@whalesong999]

Cylinder liners, apparently for Merlins, going by the flat topped pistons next to them. I think they get resized using chrome plating and then honed back to spec though he mentions what seems to be oversize boring done also. I wonder where they get pistons and rings from if they do o.s. boring.

[@groomlake51]

Turn the radio off🤨

[@Sean-sm3lr]

It's because of copyright strikes and just overall video quality.

[@axelrajr]

outstanding video. could have done without the cliffhanger though :)

[@AlaskaTrucker]

Can someone please tell me why the WWII inline engines used male/female rods as opposed to side by side rods, like a V-8 car engine? Thanks, love the channel!

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+ @AlaskaTrucker That is the blade and fork arrangement. There are two main reasons it was chosen 1) It makes the aero engine shorter for a compact design and less weight and 2) more importantly the power pulses are even on the crankshaft and bearings which reduces vibration and stress on the bearings and crank. Auto makers would be less inclined to use it because the complexity increases costs.

[@AlaskaTrucker]

@@FiveCentsPlease Thank you! I've always wondered. Its amazing how smart those guys were - we're still flying them to this very day, eighty some years later!

[@LCMNUNES1962]

VERY GOOD VÍDEO ROLLs ROYCE MERLIN WAR2 HISTORY, BRASIL OK.

[@donaldparlettjr3295]

V12 porn. I'm totally chuffed. Merlins, Allisons, and Griffons I done died and gone to heaven. Thanks Kermit.

[@bfmcarparts]

Hello Mr. Weeks! Where's part 2 and 3?

[@KermitWeeks444]

Coming the following Wednesdays. Part 2 next week, Part 3 the week after

[@LCMNUNES1962]

ÓTIMOS MOTORES BRASIL OK

[@davidmicheletti6292]

Are these reproduction Merlin engines or new rebuilds. Are Merlin engine blocks being cast new?

[@tigera3807]

David Micheletti i think refurbished and rebuilt engines

[@bottomshot4546]

I don't know how extensive the aftermarket is for parts, at 12:45 Jose points out they re-plate the babbitt style bearings for the rods, so I assume new ones must be hard to come by, and these are limited life parts. I think it safe to say no one is making new heads or blocks, just too expensive an undertaking for the relatively low demand.

[@bazwabat1]

Still plenty of engines out there.........so far!

[@augnkn93043]

I read an article about vintage v12s ages ago and it said new engine blocks aren’t needed because there were enough “engine cores” available.

[@P51]

this video is riiiight...good good goood

[@GlassTopRX7]

I still don't understand why the Merlin's heads are asymmetrical front to back. You can see at 4:44 how 1 end is taller than the other.

[@johnkamm8886]

As a former Unlimited Hydroplane diver....I wish we could of afforded just one of those Roles Royce engines, in fact I wish we could of had his toss away old parts.......Wow!!!!

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+John Kamm The hydro guys should look at Falconer V12s if they want to go back to making noise. A little smaller but they already make a marine version and it would be more affordable. Otherwise, they need to look at manufacturing their own V12 setup.

[@johnkamm8886]

😀😀😀😁

[@6h471]

One thing that mytifies me about both Merlin and Allison's is those forked connecting rods. Those look like a weak link in both engines

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+Pete 913 The forked connecting rod design allowed for a shorter engine length and less weight.

[@6h471]

@@FiveCentsPlease Yes I understand that it would reduce the engine length. There must be other reasons for it as well, as EMD locomotive engines use the same arrangement, and length and weight wouldn't be a consideration for those.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

@@6h471 With blade and fork the cylinders are directly opposite compared with slight offset with conventional connecting rod setup. So there are even power pulses on the bearings and even pulses on the crank. And more weight savings from even cylinder wall thickness.

[@dyer2cycle]

Looks like the Allison has some features which are superior to the Merlin...the rollers, the crankshaft certainly looks beefier, I have also heard they are lighter, despite larger displacement...I don't have any numbers on that. I have also heard the rods are stronger....

[@leecwilkin]

when the merlin engine was built they probably weren't worried about longevity, they were'nt expected to still be in use 80 years later. in all honesty they probably didn't expext the plane that it went into to last 80 flights.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+ Lee M7LCW Wartime Merlins were built to maximize power output. After WW2 when Merlins were used in civil transport aircraft, better heads and valve setups were designed for longevity. Many Merlins operating today have been built with the "transport head" specification to be more durable.

[@Tchristman100]

Yeah but how much does it cost to overhaul these engines? ($$$$$)

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+Tom Christman Ballpark range for certified airworthy can reach well over a hundred thousand for the V12s and costs are going up. I think Merlins have topped one fifty and are getting close to two. The more rare German mills can be several times more than that just because they are complex and rare. Racing engines for Reno will be more because they have extra work. A gently-flown Merlin can go for 700 or more hours today and a few have hit 1000 hours TBO. (At least Roush Aerospace has claimed 1000 hours on some of their work.)

[@shanek6582]

Why does everyone like the Merlin better than the Allison? Looks like the Allison would last a lot longer?

[@kris8742]

Because in actual fact the Merlin had a better performance.

[@sc1338]

@@kris8742after it was Americanized u couldn’t beat it lol

[@jkdwayne]

rebuilding vintage war bird engines , awesome . but with that pos hone ....

[@TheSepticYank]

Hi Kermit, How do you travel? Commercial or do you use your own? Just wondering. Love all the videos!

[@KermitWeeks444]

Commercial

[@rickc4302]

Aw jeez, don't tell us that! Us old geezers out here in the weeds picture you running around to different candy stores in one of your warbirds or maybe an old Stearman ! Heck, I like to think even your piano is pushing the century mark. Thanks for all the great vids you do.

[@terri200026]

Gear head porn. I love it.